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The almanac

By United Press International
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Today is Friday, March 14, the 73rd day of 2014 with 292 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn and Venus. The evening stars are Jupiter and Uranus.

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include Austrian composer Johann Strauss Sr. in 1804; Thomas Marshall, U.S. vice president under Woodrow Wilson, in 1854; Jonathon Luther Jones, railroad engineer who was the hero of the ballad "Casey Jones," in 1864; physicist Albert Einstein in 1879; bandleader Les Brown in 1912; cartoonist Hank Ketcham ("Dennis the Menace") in 1920; astronaut Frank Borman in 1928 (age 86); actor Michael Caine and composer Quincy Jones, both in 1933 (age 81); astronaut and "last man on the moon" Eugene Cernan in 1934 (age 80); golf Hall of Fame member Bob Charles in 1936 (age 78); singer Michael Martin Murphy in 1945 (age 69); basketball Hall of Fame member Wes Unseld in 1946 (age 68); comedian Billy Crystal in 1948 (age 66), Prince Albert of Monaco in 1958 (age 56); and baseball Hall of Fame member Kirby Puckett in 1961.

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On this date in history:

In 1794, Eli Whitney was granted a patent for the cotton gin.

In 1812, the U.S. government authorized the issue of America's first war bonds -- to pay for military equipment for use against the British.

In 1885, "The Mikado" by Gilbert and Sullivan made its stage debut in London.

In 1950, the FBI's "10 Most Wanted Fugitives" list appeared for the first time.

In 1951, Seoul was recaptured by U.N. troops during the Korean War.

In 1964, Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby was convicted of killing Lee Harvey Oswald, the assumed assassin of U.S. President John Kennedy. (Ruby was sentenced to death but the conviction was overturned and he died of cancer while awaiting a new trial.)

In 1991, scientists from around the world reported the discovery of the gene that triggers colon cancer.

In 2003, Hu Jintao was chosen to replace Jiang Zemin as president of China.

In 2004, Vladimir Putin easily won re-election as president of Russia.

In 2009, Australian authorities said a 230-ton oil spill from a Hong Kong-registered freighter caused an environmental disaster along nearly 40 miles of beach off the Queensland coast.

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In 2010, Katie Spotz, 22, of Mentor, Ohio, became the youngest person and first American to complete a solo boat journey across the Atlantic Ocean, a 2,817-mile, 2 1/2-month voyage in a 19-foot wooden rowboat.

In 2012, the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands, in its first verdict as a permanent war crimes tribunal, found Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga guilty of using children in war.

In 2013, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said more people are moving into the city than moving out for the first time in more than 60 years.


A thought for the day: "Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -- Kirby Puckett

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